tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-128748332018-02-20T09:19:27.466-06:00The Idiot Factor: corruption folly This site focuses on Republican politicians and conservatives that rip off their constituency. We have the Tea Party, fundamentalist churches, the corruption of ALEC and other special interests groups. But the site also supports progressive Democrats and the local Democratic Socialist of America. We must have ideas on how to replace regressive and corrupt politicians with something better. For comments ottozero2001@yahoo.com.SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.comBlogger822125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-11877744777032219722018-02-18T19:33:00.001-06:002018-02-19T13:44:17.947-06:00Will a complete ass hole—Kris Kobach—really be our next governor?<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;">By SJ Otto</span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><br /><br /><br />My own political scale goes left to right. That’s not unusual. But I have several categories of right-wing labels that go "conservative- very conservative- ultra-right conservative" and then "ass hole." At some point a politician just doesn't deserve a simple far-far-far far to the right conservative label. I like to call them as I see them. <br />We do have the Nazis, real Fascists and Ku Klux Klan. And they are in the "ass hole" position of my label system. But there are those who are not members of such fascist oriented groups and they are so reprehensible that they may as well be members of the aforementioned groups. They are the people who are against the common welfare of at least some segment of people in our society. Our former Governor Sam Brownback viciously attacked poor people and the programs they relied on. He <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/life-and-death-red-america/">denied them access</a> to health care. He treated them about a good as Hitler treated Jews. Today <i>The Wichita Eagle </i>[1] had an editorial piece by Mark Peterson that explains how Secretary of State <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/kobach-arizona-immigration-law/">Kris Kobach</a> could easily win the upcoming gubernatorial election to be our next governor. Peterson admits that Kobach is strongly disliked. And yet he may win. I can understand how that would happen. First there is a primary for both Democrats and Republicans. While there are many candidates to choose from on the Republican ticket, Kobach is the best known Republican running. While there are a lot of middle of the road Republicans who would never vote for such an obnoxious candidate as Kobach, the more repulsive "ass hole" Republicans will turn out in high numbers to put their candidate over the top. Most Kansas are too intelligent to vote for such a narrow minded "ass hole" as Kobach. But only Republicans can vote in the primary and that gives the "ass holes" a great advantage. <br />The next big advantage is Greg Orman who is running as an independent. This is how, as Peterson explained it, "that Bizarro World outcome could unfold." Orman is probably a fairly progressive candidate, at least compared to Kobach. But he is running against a Democrat. We don't know who that will be yet. But whoever wins the Democratic primary they are likely to be way more liberal or progressive than Kobach. Kansas is a Republican state but at times people here elect Democrat governors. As Peterson wrote: "electing an independent to the governor’s office has a July in Kansas blizzard's chance." What he is likely to do is split the vote. For a Democrat to win in Kansas, they have to win over a large section of Republicans —the kinds of Republicans that are able to evaluate the actual issues and not just continuously vote for Republicans for the sake of Republicans. And then there are the "ass holes" who willingly vote for the worst and most despicable people running. <br />There are the xenophobes who enjoy seeing all those anti-immigrant policies that Kobach has enacted. Then there are the racist (who are usually also) xenophobes who like the way Kobach has knocked these people off the voter rolls. And there are those who loved a governor who followed his right-wing ideology despite bringing the state closer to <br />ruination. And most racist people also hate poorer people and just about any other groups of minorities who are different from them. <br />I have to admit that calling a mainstream politician an “ass hole” is not very professional. It shows a lack of respect for the institution of journalism. But then again, I’m not a real professional politician or journalist. Blog writing is a kind of entertainment pass time where an unprofessional journalist can call them like he/she sees them. <br />I see a mean spirited ass hole who has shown a complete lack of professional behavior and an attitude of “if it works do it, even if it is just plain unfair.” Fair play and a sense of common decency is missing. So I just call them like I see them. <span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><img alt="Preview" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PtMsI1-r9UU/U5OdAq5Ml4I/AAAAAAAAP_c/iuqujXC6YZY/s400/Kobach%2BAnti-Hispanic.jpg" width="263" /></span></div></span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><br /><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br clear="all" /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><br /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><br /><div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="file:///E:/ass%20holes.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , &quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> Mark Peterson, "How Kobach survives his way to gubernatorial top," <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wichita Eagle</i>, February 18, 2018, p. 4B</span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><br /><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;;"> </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-43956945687658934662018-02-15T17:48:00.001-06:002018-02-16T13:27:37.686-06:00Once again we have the insanity of the NRA<br /><div class="MsoNormal">By SJ Otto</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once again we have a school shooting. We had 17 known students killed by a former high school student who got mad and decided to "shoot up the school."</div><div class="MsoNormal">People will wring their hands and complain that we should pass some kind of gun laws. Maybe we need better background checks? Maybe stop guns from being around a school? Maybe put restrictions on what kind of guns people can buy?</div><div class="MsoNormal">But we all know that any new gun laws are "dead on arrival." The NRA (National Riffle Association or as I put it, National Republican Association since this group almost always supports Republicans) will oppose any new gun laws and no politician will dare to oppose what they say. Oh sure... a few Democrats will bravely stand up and propose new gun restrictions, but the NRA will win in the final count and nothing will change. For example, just look at all the other school shooting that have taken place in the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5392845/Major-school-shootings-United-States.html">last 20 years.</a>&nbsp;There was quite a bit. Or worse yet, let's look at the school shootings in the last year. There have been 18 school shootings in the first <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/18-school-shootings-us-year-group/story?id=53091125">45 days of 2018</a>. That seems like a lot. </div><div class="MsoNormal">So what does the NRA and their finely tuned leadership say about these shootings? "Good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns," According to such right-wing jerks as <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/27/good-guys-with-guns-stop-bad-guys-with-guns/">Todd Rokita, Member of the US House of Representatives</a> from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Indiana</st1:place></st1:state>'s 4th district. We hear that refrain over and over again from both the NRA and Republican politicians.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I don't want a lot of restrictions on guns. I oppose gun control in general. But the NRA and the Republicans have supported gun rights and the right to conceal and carry to the point where they have gotten ridiculous. Should we change the law to the point <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/opinion/26fri1.html">where 18 year olds, rather than being 21 years of age</a>, are allowed to carry guns? Such changes have been in the works and the NRA supports that. Is there an age where people are just too immature to own dangerous hand guns or assault riffles? According to the NRA the answer is no. Any one of any age should be able to buy a hand gun or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/ar15-mass-shootings-guns.html">any kind of gun.</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal">There is a way to defend the right of adults to own guns and there are common sense ideas as to keeping such weapons from children. If the NRA gets their way, their new motto will be "good children with guns (hand guns or assault riffles) can stop bad children who have guns. The NRA support insanity and the rest of the country needs to wake up and stop this ridiculous organization. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><iframe allowfullscreen="" height="360" scrolling="no" src="https://abcnews.go.com/video/embed?id=53106645" style="border: none;" width="440"></iframe></div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-21858476903432181112018-02-13T09:30:00.001-06:002018-02-13T09:30:10.393-06:00Martin Luther King Jr. reduced to pedaling trucks—Super Bowl Ad<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">I hate commercials. They annoy me. At times they try to pretend they are entertainment. Other times they pretend to be news updates. But their aim is always to try and get us to buy something. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWPl5gfdEs4">Larry King</a> says he likes to connect people with things that work. He is simply trying to sell us clam oil pills to stop pain. If I could get rid of commercials I would. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">This year, as with many years past, the Super Bowl ads are now looked forward to as if they were real entertainment. I see news people showing us the most interesting and anticipated ads for the Super Bowl. But now the ads have hit an all-time low as Dodge uses part of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlbY1tGARUA">Martin Luther King Jr. speech to sell</a> us their trucks. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">According to </span><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><a href="http://www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article198523929.html">MICHAEL HILTZIK:</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 3;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #984807; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #984807; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Amid the commercial miasma swirling around Sunday’s Super Bowl telecast, one advertisement actually stood out as something of a cultural and social event. It was an ad for Dodge Ram trucks, featuring the uplifting words of none other than Martin Luther King Jr.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #984807; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #984807; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">The ad provoked immediate comment on social media – none of it, as far as we can tell, positive. It was seen as a landmark in crassness. That was true not least because in the speech excerpted for the ad, a 1968 sermon entitled “The Drum Major Instinct,” King spends some considerable time excoriating the advertiser-driven quest for material acquisitions, including cars.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #984807; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #984807; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">“We are so often taken by advertisers,” he declared. “They have a way of saying things to you that kind of gets you into buying…. You’ve seen people riding around in Cadillacs and Chryslers who don’t earn enough to have a good T-Model Ford.” Those words weren’t in the script for the Ram truck company (which is owned by, yes, Fiat Chrysler). The ad just stuck to King’s exhortation to become great by serving others.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Apparently the King family gave permission for Dodge to use this speech. So what were the King family members thinking when they allowed a speech by one of our most beloved social commentators of the 20<sup>th</sup>century? I can only guess</span><span style="color: #77933c; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;">— $$MONEY$$!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">This ad takes a speech that was meant to inspire people to think about the meaning of our lives and our relationship towards others and gave it a new meaning—to buy our trucks. The seriousness of such a speech is lost on the crass commercialism and materialism that has soaked in to every fiber of our collective being. The message is simple—buy lots of stuff, whether you need it or not, and contribute to the economy. Such crass commercialism seems to be a form of cultural pollution. Ads are everywhere we go—TV radio, our computers. They are in every public place imaginable. The message is always to buy something. As a culture I would like to think that Americans have more to say about life than buy something and try to find happiness through the ownership of material things. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Georgia&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 34.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SlbY1tGARUA" width="460"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-69363214191481671662018-02-09T12:44:00.000-06:002018-02-09T12:44:39.374-06:00Mike Pence avoids handshake with North Korea delegate ahead of Olympics Opening Ceremony<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: red;">It is not surprising that a hard-line ass hole Republican like </span><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Vice President Mike Pence</span><span style="color: red;">would avoid shaking hands with members of the North (Democratic People’s Republic) Korean delegation at this year’s Winter Olympics. It is to be expected that the up-runner to US Imperialism would be rude to those who live under his adversary. Everyone who came from other countries acted civil, but Pence is an embarrassment to those of us who believe in respecting international law. -SJ Otto </span><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">From <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mike-pence-avoids-handshake-n-korea-delegate-ahead-olympics-opening-ceremony-124310491.html">Yahoo News:</a><o:p></o:p></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 13.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a reception for international delegates ahead of Friday’s Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in&nbsp;PyeongChang.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 13.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Vice President Mike Pence, the leader of the the U.S. delegation, was among 12 leaders invited to sit at the head table, where he was expected to sit across from Kim Yong Nam, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and representative from North Korea.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 13.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">That did not happen. Pence made a brief appearance and left early to meet with U.S. athletes prior to the Opening ceremony, South Korean officials&nbsp;<a data-rapid_p="9" data-ylk="sec:giraffe_viewer;" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-pence-avoided-sitting-next-to-kim-yong-nam-before-the-olympics-2018-2" target="_blank">told Reuters</a>. He did not take a seat, but met and shook hands with other leaders, including&nbsp;Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to the report.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 13.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">He left without interacting with Kim Yong Nam, although Moon&nbsp;<a data-rapid_p="10" data-ylk="sec:giraffe_viewer;" href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/sport/winter-olympics-opening-ceremony-intl/index.html">did shake hands</a>&nbsp;with Kim Yong Nam.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 13.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 10.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Pence did, however, sit near&nbsp;Kim Yong Nam and Kim Jong Un’s sister&nbsp;Kim Yo Jong at the Opening Ceremony, thanks to a&nbsp;<a data-rapid_p="11" data-ylk="sec:giraffe_viewer;" href="https://sports.yahoo.com/mike-pence-kim-jong-uns-sister-will-sit-uncomfortably-close-opening-ceremonies-092905548.html" target="_blank">seating arrangement that was out of his control</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">For the rest <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mike-pence-avoids-handshake-n-korea-delegate-ahead-olympics-opening-ceremony-124310491.html">click here.</a><o:p></o:p></div><img height="135" src="https://s2.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/1rwREYrSRUWMItqX0pygaw--/YXBwaWQ9eW15O3c9NjQwO3E9NzU7c209MQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/0fc878bed4284e5ce31932a7ad9044ef" width="200" /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-14470647432491771672018-02-07T13:32:00.001-06:002018-02-07T13:32:37.214-06:00Good bye and good riddance Governor Sam Brownback<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">We are finally rid of Governor Sam Brownback. We do have a Republican governor, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and he may be as bad as Sam Brownback—but there is a chance that he is an improvement, and it wouldn’t take a lot to be an improvement over the governor. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Brownback barely won re-election and in the six years he has reigned over Kansas, he has cause massive damage to our educational system, brought a massive deficit and flooded the state with unnecessary far to the right, conservative policies. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Brownback admitted he was running an experiment in Kansas and that experiment has failed and failed miserably. He slashed taxes for wealthy businesses, and as most conservatives he tried to balance the budget on the backs of working people. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/kansass-failed-experiment/389874/">Kansas's budget has</a> for years resembled a wallet with a hole in it—every time the state's bookkeepers&nbsp;<a href="http://kslegresearch.org/Publications/2014_CRE_ShortMemo-11-10-14.pdf">peek inside</a>, they find<a href="http://www.ksrevenue.org/CMS/content/01-30-2015-January-Revenue.pdf">&nbsp;less money</a>&nbsp;than the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ksrevenue.org/CMS/content/03-31-2015-March-revenue.pdf">government thought would be there</a>. He took a lot of money out of our education system as if it had no value. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Brownback treated poor Kansans as if they were some kind of enemy. He has slashed the welfare system until it barely exists at all. He has come up with some of the most draconian and humiliating rules for public assistance that have ever been conceived. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">He has refused to take part in any part of the Obamacare and he actually sent back federal funding for that program, which cost the Kansas taxpayer’s money and services that were already paid for. He refused to increase Medicaid spending for poor people and that has caused a lot of poor people to die from lack of health care needlessly.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">It will take years to fix all the damage this man has done to our state. His leaving is a welcome breath of fresh air. He is going off as an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom around the world for President Donald Trump. Brownback’s selection was criticized by <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article163841223.html">Equality Kansas</a>, the state’s leading LGBT rights group that has repeatedly clashed with Brownback on the issue of religious freedom.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #c00000;">“Governor Brownback is unsuited to represent American values of freedom, liberty and justice, whether at home or abroad,” </span>said Tom Witt, the group’s executive director<span style="color: #c00000;">. “His use of religion is little different than that of a bully wielding a club. His goal is not to use religion as a way to expand freedom, but to use a narrow, bigoted interpretation of religion to deny freedom to his fellow citizens.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Brownback leaves as one of the most unpopular governors in the history of Kansas. And he deserves that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VeOAS5QkH04/WntUNIbgsyI/AAAAAAAAX84/8QcGNd0Q8FMXXyKTuQgePEd0YckzpopTgCLcBGAs/s1600/kick.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="500" height="224" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VeOAS5QkH04/WntUNIbgsyI/AAAAAAAAX84/8QcGNd0Q8FMXXyKTuQgePEd0YckzpopTgCLcBGAs/s320/kick.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #548235; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #548235; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Good Bye and Good Riddance! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pix by <a href="http://adventuresofacurlygirl.com/is-life-kicking-your-ass/" target="_blank">Adventures of a Curly Girl</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-16144868695215863272018-02-06T13:21:00.003-06:002018-02-07T13:00:36.971-06:00We don’t need conservative Democrats!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: inherit , serif;"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">There is no advantage to having a conservative Democrat in office. If he opposes abortion rights and Obamacare he may as well be a Republican. The label of Democrat means nothing if Lipinski isn’t supporting policies that help the average working class and working poor Americans. We need people to counter the disastrous President Donald Trump. He and his party are destroying working people, poor working people and poor people in general. The Democrats need to be on the side of the working class. There is no room for those who straddling the fence. They are either with us or against us—no middle ground. –SJ Otto</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: inherit , serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: inherit , serif;">From <i>Daily Kos:</i><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">Businesswoman Marie Newman seemed like a longshot to dislodge anti-choice, anti-gay Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski in the Democratic primary when Daily Kos first endorsed last summer. But a powerhouse campaign and a groundswell of grassroots support have Team Lipinski sweating bullets.<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" />Look at the support Newman has earned since we first endorsed:<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; mso-special-character: line-break;" /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">NARAL and the Human Rights Campaign<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">Illinois Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">EMILY's List<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">The SEIU Illinois State Council<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">The Illinois Federation of Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">Planned Parenthood<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is what a winning team looks like.<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><strong id="yui_3_16_0_1_1517942796965_18524" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Lipinski has been a thorn in the side of progressives since he was first elected in 2004. He is one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, voting against key legislation like Obamacare and siding with Paul Ryan and House Republicans to ban abortion after 20 weeks. Marie Newman is our best shot ever of taking him out and electing a real progressive in this solidly blue district.</strong><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><strong id="yui_3_16_0_1_1517942796965_18522" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/_AA/ni0YAA/t.2er/PvIYr8_gTX-Y4qu87viRtQ/h0/aHO21LnX1DH2iKGsTPn3bYhi39zkK-2F5KLSrcx61KPVH2sXpP936kJ1Wj5kK6fyGsgnlHVXn73z9IiAmNIH7Rcojcr8aOGUj6EjIlJXQWFX1gMDj2QNa7WynKzPVLRjjpAly0Sdq6EOypiaj7xeU7iL4eVU2qwz4HFFKxzpU3PC1-2BoYiegtxV0WxZHJi0J0KUJDE9hmlKOQxdKXLErRBZByyaUeigjh3Fb9752vrcx78T-2FTDLFHSYSLKojk5y2Q2IwMAfRGutwnq6df36fW6MGTjjpoioccNz2-2FRGEFjiA9E8-2BSukCxsKS2ffxKrrN2lXfQxkqdXCaIQriSJImLsV9pUFHV4AxAzsMdCIvVCHOpE6pWnSQPhxds9m73DuTl-2Bl7BezO2uJqJ711ouY5JDrgA7rS85dJv13m2J7g51T2TmH1gdTWa51frLuXwPk2k0VR7HJVJeSIoj8m937utgvstQze2CJXlHvuvNlMtIf7tWXAuasrUOgVgECr4ZddDCfNv6eiWURoieYJjN-2FW8mW3YyeCHgdwYOBrdegcT2x5lM-3D" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1517942796965_18521" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; outline: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">Please stand up for women and chip in $3 to help Marie Newman beat anti-choice Dan Lipinski today.</span></a></strong><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" />This will still be a tough battle for Newman. Lipinski has turned back progressive challengers in the past and he still has a great deal of labor support, with much of it coming from the more conservative building trades unions.<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" />But Lipinski's hurt himself with more liberal unions like SEIU, which represents often lower-paid workers like home healthcare aides, janitors, and bus drivers and is a leader in the fight for a $15 per hour minimum wage. SEIU specifically cited Lipinski's refusal to support a $15 wage as a key reason for siding with Newman, to which Lipinski responded by whining that the union's decision&nbsp;</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-69828146850290393412018-02-03T15:38:00.001-06:002018-02-07T17:30:27.793-06:00US Freedom- conform to it or else!—<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">About Three years ago I wrote this article; <a href="https://ottoswarroom.blogspot.com/2014/05/this-is-american-freedomconform-to-it.html?m=0">"This is American freedom—conform to it or else!,"</a> for another publication. That is why I especially like this cartoon. I don't know if anyone has a good solution to the problem of conformity, but at least we can see what it is. I recognize it, without offering any real solution to this problem. -SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TWeGtkOi6Yk/WnuMDvwa75I/AAAAAAAAX9k/l_NCJAwZrEggbkbyW3jSx9EyNqF0XA79QCLcBGAs/s1600/12642711_10155134968176959_6595079215257284214_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TWeGtkOi6Yk/WnuMDvwa75I/AAAAAAAAX9k/l_NCJAwZrEggbkbyW3jSx9EyNqF0XA79QCLcBGAs/s320/12642711_10155134968176959_6595079215257284214_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-49372199934267098022018-02-03T08:00:00.000-06:002018-02-03T08:02:42.474-06:00Kansas legislators move backward on marijuana, trying to ban an oil users say is life-changing, illegal in the Sunflower State<div class="MsoBodyText"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red;">While the rest of the country is rolling back outdated marijuana laws <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>legislators are moving in the opposite direction. The dim-witted backward hicks that run <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>as if we are still in the decade of the 1950s, are trying to make a medicine that is a by-product of marijuana illegal. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state></st1:place> is the one state that tries to</span>&nbsp;<a href="http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/feb/04/lawrences-sacred-journey-closed-today-under-invest/">ban any plant</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref1"><span style="color: red;">[1]</span></a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;that can alter a persons consciousness in any way. A person in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state> can buy alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine products, but any other herb a person might use to relax or make their lives better gets banned. This attitude is ridiculous. Just recently the people of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Wichita</st1:city></st1:place></span>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/election/article17801054.html">voted to lessen</a>&nbsp;<span style="color: red;">the penalties for possession of Marijuana. Our elected representatives just don't get it. The people of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state> are rejecting these archaic rules, not asking for new ones. We need to let all those who run for office in Kansas know that they are working against the will of the people if the continue to try and deprive Kansans of herbal medicines, such as CBD. -SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-GB">From <i><a href="http://fox4kc.com/2018/01/29/bill-introduced-in-kansas-legislature-to-make-cbd-an-oil-users-say-is-life-changing-illegal-in-the-sunflower-state/">Fox Channel 4:</a></i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- It's not a high. It's a matter of health. That's what hemp oil users in Kansas are saying, at least.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Prominent lawmakers in the Sunflower State have asked the state to declare cannabidiol illegal. But the owners and customers at one hemp store say their advocates deserve better.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The oil is known as CBD, but users of the popular hemp oil call it a life-changer. County attorneys from two areas of the Sunflower State -- Johnson and Shawnee counties -- are asking Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to declare CBD illegal because they say the ingredients are too close to the ones found in marijuana.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">On Monday, a bill was introduced to the state legislature in Topeka, which would make the penalty for possession of CBD the same as it is for holding pot.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">“Taking this out of the hands of the public is really kind of criminal,” Brian Pitts, store owner at Phoenix Natural Wellness in Overland Park, told FOX4. “I’m angry. I'm frustrated.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Pitts is a believer, too. His 17-year-old daughter, Cecilia, registers on the&nbsp;<a href="http://fox4kc.com/2018/01/29/bill-introduced-in-kansas-legislature-to-make-cbd-an-oil-users-say-is-life-changing-illegal-in-the-sunflower-state/">autism spectrum</a>&nbsp;and is prone to drift into a distant, catatonic state. Pitts said using CBD has transformed her into being a productive person.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">“To catch her catatonic is really upsetting,” Pitts said while fighting back tears. “We put her on CBD, and she became a new kid. I'd catch her singing in the other room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">However, on Monday, the shelves in Pitts' store were bare. He's been threatened with a raid, which could potentially land him in jail.&nbsp;Pitts said he’s shipped his entire CBD inventory to a safe location out of state in&nbsp;<a href="http://fox4kc.com/2018/01/29/bill-introduced-in-kansas-legislature-to-make-cbd-an-oil-users-say-is-life-changing-illegal-in-the-sunflower-state/">order</a>&nbsp;to avoid confiscation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">For the rest <a href="http://fox4kc.com/2018/01/29/bill-introduced-in-kansas-legislature-to-make-cbd-an-oil-users-say-is-life-changing-illegal-in-the-sunflower-state/">click here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="//cdn2.trb.tv/iframe.html?ec=ozYjg2ZTE6Q49Sm38FaRE7X6LRj7azeh&amp;pbid=41a7fde962484147af148038b175431a&amp;pcode=o3ZXA6AW_ODSH73PHaEhBxcqUpwq" width="640"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><img alt="Image result for ​kansas making hemp oil illegal" height="225" src="https://localtvwdaf.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/promo341551839.jpg?quality=85&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200" width="400" /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8pt;">Pix from <a href="http://fox4kc.com/2018/01/29/bill-introduced-in-kansas-legislature-to-make-cbd-an-oil-users-say-is-life-changing-illegal-in-the-sunflower-state/" target="_blank">Fox 4</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><!--[endif]--> <br /><div id="ftn1"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/baumgardner/Desktop/restore/stuff2.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;liberation serif&quot;; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"> </span>The DEA is as bad as the state of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Kan</st1:state>s</st1:state>as</st1:place>. Two years ago they tried to ban the use of&nbsp; a harmless <a href="http://www.kctv5.com/story/33074874/dea-plans-ban-of-kratom-those-who-use-herbal-supplement-petition-against-prohibition">herb called kratom</a>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Kan</st1:state>s</st1:state>as</st1:place>legislators like to follow that lead and ban such herbs.<o:p></o:p></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-76073780988642539082018-01-31T19:36:00.001-06:002018-01-31T19:36:27.027-06:00A response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union Speech<div class="MsoNormal">By SJ Otto</div><div class="MsoNormal">As much as I wanted to ignore President Donald Trump and his state of the union speech, I eventually had to look over the transcript and I have had to comment on it. </div><div class="MsoNormal">To be fair, Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes held political views that are almost identical to Trump's. They were just as conservative and obnoxious. If there is one thing we can say for Trump, he follows his precedent Republicans with out cluttering up the political landscape with new ideas or original thoughts. Trump has none of that. Also with the new modern Republican ideology,&nbsp; Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford seem like flaming liberals compared to those other presidents. </div><div class="MsoNormal">There is something obnoxious about Trump. Not only does he hold on to a lot of bad policies and ideas, he is a crude, undignified brute.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I looked at a few highlights of his speech. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>On Health care:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">"We eliminated an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on Americans making less than $50,000 a year -- forcing them to pay tremendous penalties simply because they could not afford government-ordered health plans. We repealed the core of disastrous Obamacare -- the individual mandate is now gone."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: #262626;">This man had a look of glee on his face when he gloated about killing the "disastrous<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Obamacare (AKA Affordable Care Act)." The reality is that for the first time, many poor and working poor Americans had health care. The <a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2017/05/trump-and-republicans-are-determined-to.html">didn't have to worry about dying off early</a> because they can't just go to the doctor when they are sick. Obamacare was inadequate, but it was better than nothing. So Trump is bragging that he cost many working Americans their health care. They had it for a while and now they will die early because they have inadequate health care.&nbsp; It is almost like listening to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper">Jack the Ripper</a>brag about killing women. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Originally Trump and company said they would "repeal and replace." The replacement never came. Trump and his buddies lied. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>On his tax cuts:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon;">"</span><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;"> Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses -- many of them thousands of dollars per worker. Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and hire another 20,000 workers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">He is proud of his new tax cuts. He and his supporters brag about these cuts when ever possible. But these cuts went mostly to the people at the top of the political ladder. It is wonderful for the 1 percent of Americans who own almost half the country's wealth. Those folks came off like bandits. But middle class workers got a temporary tax cut. <a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2017/12/for-most-of-us-president-trumps-tax.html">Many people at the bottom of the economy actually lost deductions</a> and their taxes will go up. This is typical of the Republicans over the last 40 years today as they seem to take and take and take benefits from poor people. As with many of their policies they seem to want to punish people for being poor. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>On the "me too" movement:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Trump was strangely silent on the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/29/politics/state-of-the-union-metoo/index.html">women who have come forward</a> to complain of sexual harassment. That is not surprising since he was accused of sexual harassment while he was running for president. It is as if being president protects a man from being held accountable for his wrong doings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>On foreign affairs:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon;">"</span><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;"> When the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>rose up against the crimes of their corrupt dictatorship, I did not stay silent. <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> stands with the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>in their courageous struggle for freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">I am asking the Congress to address the fundamental flaws in the terrible <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region> nuclear deal.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">My Administration has also imposed tough sanctions on the communist and socialist dictatorships in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Venezuela</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">But no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">North Korea</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">North Korea</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">'s reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from happening.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this dangerous position.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>and our allies."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: #262626;">He accused <b>Venezuela </b><a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2017/05/standoff-in-venezuela_20.html?m=0">of being communist</a>. That shows us how ignorant he is politically. That country has an elected socialist, not a communist. The system has not radically changed that much, it has simply gone to the left. Trump and the Republican Party equate any kind of leftist leaders, elected nor not, to be a communist dictatorship.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">He has almost been obsessed with <st1:country-region w:st="on">North Korea</st1:country-region> (AKA Democratic People's <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Republic</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Korea</st1:placename></st1:place>). His latest antics are very dangerous and just plain reckless. According to <i><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-north-korea-bloody-nose-attack-2018-1">Business Insider:</a></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: green; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">"Both&nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/20/exclusive-us-making-plans-bloody-nose-military-attack-north/" target="_blank"><span style="color: green; text-decoration-line: none;">The Telegraph</span></a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/amid-signs-of-a-thaw-in-north-korea-tensions-bubble-up-1515427541" target="_blank"><span style="color: green; text-decoration-line: none;">The Wall Street Journal</span></a>&nbsp;have reported that President Donald Trump's administration is weighing a "<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tillerson-mattis-trump-north-korea-strike-2018-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: green; text-decoration-line: none;">bloody nose</span></a>" strike designed to batter and humiliate North Korea as it illegally advances its weapons programs. The strategy calls for a limited strike on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">North Korea</st1:place></st1:country-region> in response to a provocation like a missile or nuclear test."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal">What could be more dangerous than launching a military attack on a nation that can launch a nuclear attack on the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> or an ally such as <st1:country-region w:st="on">South Korea</st1:country-region> or <st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place>? The world should be terrified. This is the same Donald Trump he authorized military aid to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-human-rights-record-middle-east-tour-israel-iran-a7748966.html">Saudi Arabia,</a> one of the world least democratic governments- an absolute monarchy. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">"So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed an order directing Secretary Mattis to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Guantánamo</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">I am also asking the Congress to ensure that, in the fight against <st1:place w:st="on">ISIS</st1:place> and al-Qa'ida, we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists -- wherever we chase them down.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot;; font-size: 11.5pt;">Our warriors in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>also have new rules of engagement. Along with their heroic Afghan partners, our military is no longer undermined by artificial timelines, and we no longer tell our enemies our plans."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FEFEFE;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Another part of his foreign affairs agenda is his plan to throw out all vestiges of civilization and all rights to prisoners of war, especially at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Guantánamo Bay</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region></st1:place><a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2017/12/iraqi-court-systems-violate-human.html">. Torture and mistreatment</a> are the modern rule of <st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place> imperialism. No more caring about the rightist of prisoners or the accused. Trump is a brute and this attitude proves it. There may be one problem for him. In the war against <st1:place w:st="on">ISIS</st1:place>, Iraqi troops don't take prisoners. They execute them after they surrender. Where is Trump going to get any prisoners?</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I said before, I'd rather not hear from that obnoxious President Donald Trump. He is one of those far-far-far-far-far to the right presidents. He is clearly a punk for the wealthy elites who rule the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>. He has served them well. He has destroyed life for the poorer Americans. The economy may be picking up, but I already have a job. I need health insurance. Trump is an enemy of the working people. And on top of that, he seems to relish it when his opponents get screwed over. Few people are as despicable as Donald Trump.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><img alt="donald-trump.jpg" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/article_small/public/thumbnails/image/2017/05/22/08/gettyimages-686326804.jpg" /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-14736318629182190712018-01-30T09:28:00.001-06:002018-01-30T11:47:53.160-06:00Another useless address by our useless president<div class="MsoNormal">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Once again we are given the chance to hear our president’s state of the union address. This president is probably the least qualified president we have ever had. Anyone can run for president and now we know that ANYONE can win and actually be president. This guy is from game show stardom and that is what his presidency runs like—a really bad game show. The winners are the 1 percent of Americans who own most of the wealth and the losers are all the rest of us. <o:p></o:p></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">This is good time to see out a really bad sitcom to watch, because our president will be on all the major channels. I really don’t care what Donald Trump has to say because he is a president to the 1 percent and not me or people like me. So let the 1 percent watch him. The rest of us have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeQ9fuz0rDI">“The Facts of Life”</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEgIuJezRM">“Different Strokes.”</a> And don’t forget <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSBziV_9oY">“Gilligan’s Island.”</a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XAsH8iOYQWU/WnCPATqi1vI/AAAAAAAAX8M/R06h1TJPUIslW1r7VIcEX3WIRYzXnhlVQCLcBGAs/s1600/RCA_Indian_Head_test_pattern.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XAsH8iOYQWU/WnCPATqi1vI/AAAAAAAAX8M/R06h1TJPUIslW1r7VIcEX3WIRYzXnhlVQCLcBGAs/s320/RCA_Indian_Head_test_pattern.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Early 20<sup>th</sup>century <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian-head_test_pattern">TV test pattern.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-86617109897503548042018-01-27T21:57:00.000-06:002018-01-27T21:58:38.654-06:00Bernie Sanders Just Sidestepped Corporate Media to Promote Medicare for All to 1 Million Viewers<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: red; font-weight: normal;">This article is a breath of fresh air in a political landscape where the Republicans take delight at removing health care from the working poor. On the other side, the Democratic Party is ignoring the healthcare issue altogether to go for their "Jobs and good government" style of </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-democrats-new-agenda-is-everything.html">corporate politics that offers</a><span style="color: red;"> most voters nothing at all. Bernie Sanders and those who either support him or have taken inspiration from him, represent the only positive high lights of the Democratic Party. With out him and his allies on the Democratic Party, the up coming elections offer little for voters to get exited about. In Kansas we have </span></span><em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.votejamesthompson.com/">James Thompson&nbsp;</a></span></em><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: red; font-weight: normal;">who does not call himself a democratic socialist, but he is a Sanders ally. He is working hard to flip the fourth district representative seat, now held by</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-weight: normal;"> <a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2017/04/ron-estesmajor-slacker-and-hes.html">Ron Estes</a><span style="color: red;">, to blue- Democratic. If he wins it will mean a real change. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: red;">-SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: red;">So we are glad to see this: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-GB">From <i><a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/20860/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-town-hall?link_id=3&amp;can_id=c5e3afa51333b672bb51c909fc69a905&amp;source=email-why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicar">In These Times:</a></i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><br /></div><div class="article-deck" style="margin-bottom: 2.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #626366; font-size: 15.0pt;">The democratic socialist senator’s town hall on universal healthcare marks a new phase in the political revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="author"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #626366; font-size: 8.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.75pt; padding: 0in; text-transform: uppercase;">BY&nbsp;<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/community/profile/52535" style="font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; transition: all 0.2s;"><span style="color: #626366; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">THEO ANDERSON</span></a></span></b></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">The revolution will not be&nbsp;<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/20860/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-town-hall?link_id=3&amp;can_id=c5e3afa51333b672bb51c909fc69a905&amp;source=email-why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicare-for-all-to-1-million-viewers&amp;email_referrer=email_292424&amp;email_subject=why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicare-for-all-to-1-million-viewers" id="PXLINK_4_0_4" style="border-image: initial !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-left-style: initial !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-right-style: initial !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-top-style: initial !important; font-size: inherit !important; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; transition: all 0.2s;"><nobr style="font-size: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">televised</span></nobr></a>, but it might be live-streamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 9pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">“It ain’t gonna be on CBS, it ain’t gonna be on NBC,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday evening, near the end of a “Medicare for All Town Hall” that was streamed to an estimated audience of more than a million people over three social media outlets—Now This, Attn: and The Young Turks Network (YTN). Sanders was referring specifically to serious debate about our healthcare system, but his words spoke to more than that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 9pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">Sanders’ town hall showed the senator—currently the most popular politician in the United States—freed from the confines of traditional mainstream media and able to dig in to issues ranging from healthcare to campaign financing to the corruption of our political system.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">Earlier on Tuesday, CNN&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/politics/2020-trump-biden-sanders-winfrey/index.html" style="font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; transition: all 0.2s;"><span style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #d12e28; font-family: inherit; padding: 0in;">released a poll</span></a>&nbsp;showing Sanders with a 57 percent favorability rating. Among Democrats that number was 82 percent. It also showed that Sanders would defeat Donald Trump in a hypothetical presidential race, winning 55 percent of the vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">The democratic socialist senator took advantage of this popularity to spread his message directly to viewers without, as Sanders’ pointed out, the interruption of ads from pharmaceutical and&nbsp;<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/20860/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-town-hall?link_id=3&amp;can_id=c5e3afa51333b672bb51c909fc69a905&amp;source=email-why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicare-for-all-to-1-million-viewers&amp;email_referrer=email_292424&amp;email_subject=why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicare-for-all-to-1-million-viewers" id="PXLINK_3_0_3" style="border-image: initial !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-left-style: initial !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-right-style: initial !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-top-style: initial !important; font-size: inherit !important; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; transition: all 0.2s;"><nobr style="font-size: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">insurance companies</span></nobr></a>. And in the process, he planted four distinct flags.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 9pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">One flag was in the media landscape. Sanders’ cry for “political revolution” has always been more about process than specific policy—multiplying and opening up the channels of information and fostering robust democratic engagement.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 9pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">On Tuesday, Sanders noted that the event was the first nationally broadcast town hall taking place outside the corporate media. “This is, I think, kind of revolutionary, is it not?” he said to YTN host Ana Kasparian in a pre-town hall interview. “This could be the very first step in bringing millions of people into serious discussion about the serious issues facing our country.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">It’s a common lament that the Right has been brilliant at creating an alternative media ecosystem—through Fox News, Breitbart, conservative&nbsp;<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/20860/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-town-hall?link_id=3&amp;can_id=c5e3afa51333b672bb51c909fc69a905&amp;source=email-why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicare-for-all-to-1-million-viewers&amp;email_referrer=email_292424&amp;email_subject=why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicare-for-all-to-1-million-viewers" id="PXLINK_2_0_2" style="border-image: initial !important; border-left-color: initial !important; border-left-style: initial !important; border-right-color: initial !important; border-right-style: initial !important; border-top-color: initial !important; border-top-style: initial !important; font-size: inherit !important; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; transition: all 0.2s;"><nobr style="font-size: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">radio</span></nobr></a>&nbsp;shows and Donald Trump’s Twitter account—while the Left has struggled to get its message into the mainstream media or to develop alternative outlets.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 9pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">The Medicare for All town hall may have been but a small step, yet it confirmed that Sanders—who has about 7.5 million Facebook followers, hosts a podcast, and regularly creates polished and shareable video content—recognizes the promise of the burgeoning new media infrastructure and is moving quickly to take advantage of it. Which is a wise move if you say you want a revolution. YTN has nearly 3.6 million YouTube subscribers. Attn: has nearly 5.6 million Facebook followers. Now This has about 13 million Facebook followers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 9pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">By engaging these audiences directly, Sanders is reaching a large pool of potential voters who seek their news outside of traditional outlets. &nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 9pt; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">Sanders’ second flag was planted in the single-payer debate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-stretch: normal; outline: 0px;"> </span><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">For the rest <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-language: HI;"><a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/20860/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-town-hall?link_id=3&amp;can_id=c5e3afa51333b672bb51c909fc69a905&amp;source=email-why-wall-street-isnt-the-answer-to-the-pension-crisis-bernie-sanders-sidesteps-corporate-media-to-promote-medicar">click here.</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://inthesetimes.com/images/made/images/GettyImages-846557830_850_567.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-18895180119598268512018-01-26T11:18:00.001-06:002018-01-26T11:18:48.372-06:00Code Pink has a morale problem: It’s called Democrats<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span class="byline"><span style="color: red; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As with the article below, Members of Code Pink have </span></span><em><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: red; font-style: normal;">realize</span></em><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: red; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">d<span class="byline"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> that the <a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2018/01/subject-to-discussion-whither-anti-war.html">Democratic Party is no</a> ally of the anti-war movement. Our former President Barack Obama bombed seven different countries. He was just as much a hawk as President George W. Bush before him. And the Democrats in congress have done virtually nothing to slow down or stop the US rush to expand war in both the Middle East and now Africa. We must learn to fight against our involvement in war, without the help of Democrats. Here is one more article about the Democrats. –SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span class="byline"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/jacqueline-klimas/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Jacqueline Klimas</span></a></span></span><span class="source"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">&nbsp;- <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/4/code-pink-founder-democrats-quiet-in-challenging-o/">The Washington Times:</a></span></span></i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">Anti-war protesters are objecting to military action in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/syria/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Syria</span></a>, but their efforts pale compared to the crowds that came out against the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/iraq/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Iraq</span></a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/afghanistan/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Afghanistan</span></a>&nbsp;wars — and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/medea-benjamin/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Medea Benjamin</span></a>, co-founder of the women’s anti-war group&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/code-pink/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Code Pink</span></a>, blames the Democrats,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">“We’ve been protesting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/barack-obama/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Obama</span></a>’s foreign policy for years now, but we can’t get the same numbers because the people who would’ve been yelling and screaming about this stuff under Bush are quiet under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/barack-obama/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Obama</span></a>,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;"><a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/code-pink/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Code Pink</span></a>&nbsp;has seen a decrease in membership and, as a result, isn’t able to plan as many events across the country.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/medea-benjamin/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Ms. Benjamin</span></a>&nbsp;also said they are getting less attention from reporters, which means less visibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">“We’re smaller. We lost a lot of people who didn’t like us criticizing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/barack-obama/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Obama</span></a>. But we still got our feistiness,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/medea-benjamin/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Ms. Benjamin</span></a>&nbsp;told The Washington Times as she waited outside Wednesday’s House hearing, where administration officials made the case for striking&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/syria/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Syria</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: &quot;Helvetica&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;"><a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/medea-benjamin/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Ms. Benjamin</span></a>&nbsp;and fellow&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/code-pink/" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #015fb6;">Code Pink</span></a>&nbsp;members arrived to stand in line outside the House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting room just before 10 a.m., securing a spot that allowed them to take prime seats behind Secretary of State John F. Kerry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For the rest <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/4/code-pink-founder-democrats-quiet-in-challenging-o/">click here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><img alt="Image result for code pink" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Code_Pink_July_4.jpg/220px-Code_Pink_July_4.jpg" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pix by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-65577564255549461562018-01-23T12:40:00.000-06:002018-01-23T12:40:21.981-06:00Subject to Discussion: "WHITHER THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT?" <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: red;">This is a good article and it is timely. I can’t remember when the peace movement was in worse shape than it is now. I’m not sure I agree with everything in this article. What’s more important than the mistakes of the past is the plan of the future. A lot needs to be done. Some polls tell us that as many as 80 percent of the population have a lot of faith in the military, although that number varies from poll to poll </span><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/27/fox-news-poll-confidence-in-military-remains-high-in-media-low.html">with some as little as 67%.</a> <span style="color: red;">At any rate the military is very popular with most voters, especially young ones. &nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: red;">We are fighting wars all over the Middle east. The US has invaded and still occupies Iraq and Afghanistan. &nbsp;The US now plans to keep </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/world/middleeast/tillerson-troops-syria-islamic-state.html">troops in Syria</a>. <span style="color: red;">The US is now </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/where-does-the-u-s-have-troops-in-africa-and-why/">deploying troops</a> <span style="color: red;">to Africa. Most of this is being done under the disguise of “fighting terrorism.” But it is really a case of this country making sure that no nation can turn against us, as happened in Iran.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: red;">Articles I’ve read point out that only about 1 percent of US citizens are joining the military.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/la-bio-david-zucchino-staff.html#nt=byline">DAVID ZUCCHINO</a>&nbsp;<span style="color: red;">and</span>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.latimes.com/la-bio-david-cloud-staff.html#nt=byline">DAVID S. CLOUD</a>, <span style="color: red;">writing for the </span><i><a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-warrior-main-20150524-story.html">Los Angeles Times</a>,</i> <span style="color: red;">have pointed out:</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #984807; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #984807; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">The U.S. military today is gradually becoming a separate warrior class, many analysts say, &nbsp;that is becoming increasingly distinct from the public it is charged with protecting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: red;">This may open opportunities for us to point out that we have become reliant on a class of people who are continuously and permanently at war. People also need to be aware of the imperialist nature of our wars.&nbsp; -SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">From <i><a href="http://fightincockflyer.blogspot.com/2017/12/subject-to-discussion-whither-anti-war.html">Fightin’ Cock Flyer:</a></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6747003368202819265" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;"><div style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">Whither the Anti-war Movement?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>By Daniel Martin</b></span></div></div><div style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/whither-the-anti-war-movement/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">American Conservative, Dec. 15, 2017</a></span></div><span style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , &quot;freeserif&quot; , serif; font-size: medium;"><br />“Imagine there’s no heaven…and no religion too.”<br /><br />A more useful line when it comes to our current wars may be “Imagine there’s no duopoly.” It’s hard to fault John Lennon for his idealism, of course. In his day, many blamed religion on the wars of history. But a much bigger obstacle right now, at least in the U.S., is partisanship. The two major political parties, in power and out, have been so co-opted by the war machine that any modern anti-war movement has been completely subsumed and marginalized—even as American troops and killer drones continue to operate in or near combat zones all over the world.<br /><br />Aside from the very early days of the Iraq war, the anti-war movement has been a small, ineffectual pinprick on the post-9/11 landscape. A less generous assessment is that it’s been a bust. After liberals helped elect the “anti-war” Barack Obama, the movement all but disappeared, even though the wars did not. By putting a Nobel Peace Prize-winning Democratic face on his inherited wars, Obama expanded into new conflicts (Libya, Syria, Yemen) with little resistance,<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/23/politics/countries-obama-bombed/index.html" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ultimately bombing seven different countries</a>&nbsp;[1] during his tenure. By 2013, Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/4/code-pink-founder-democrats-quiet-in-challenging-o/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">lamented</a>&nbsp;[2], “We’ve been protesting Obama’s foreign policy for years now, but we can’t get the same numbers because the people who would’ve been yelling and screaming about this stuff under Bush are quiet under Obama.”<br /><br />It’s easy to blame the military-industrial complex, the corporate media, and the greed and malleability of politicians. But what about the anti-war movement itself? Why has it failed so miserably, and can it revive as President Donald Trump continues the wars of his predecessors and threatens new ones?<br /><br />The rallies and protests in the early 2000s attracted significant numbers but they were weighed down by far-left organizations like the World Workers Party, which brought with them myriad other issues beyond war like global warming and poverty. There was also long-held and fairly broad&nbsp;<a href="http://www.laweekly.com/news/behind-the-placards-2135513" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">skepticism</a>&nbsp;[3] about the intentions of United For Peace and Justice (UFPJ) and the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, which organized most of the big protests over the last 17 years. This was due to the “big tent” affiliations of some of their steering committee members, which critics say led to a dilution of the message and drove the anti-war movement further from the mainstream.<br /><br />Perhaps the movement’s biggest weakness was that it shied away from directly attacking its own—the liberal Democrats who voted for the war in Congress.<br /><br />In a sense, Democrats did emerge as the de facto anti-war party during the Iraq war, but that was only because a Republican—George W. Bush—was commander-in-chief. And what of the Democrats who voted for the war and continued to fund it? Out of 77 senators who supported the resolution authorizing military force against Iraq in 2002, 20 are still in office and roughly half are Democrats, while out of the 296 votes in favor in the House, 90 are still in office and 57 of them are Democrats. Some of them, like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, went on to become party leaders. Two others, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, went on to become secretaries of state and their party’s nominees for president in 2004 and 2016 respectively. All went on to support new military interventions and regime changes, albeit under a new, liberal interventionist, Democratic banner.<br /><br />Conversely, steadfast non-interventionist Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who voted against the resolution, failed badly in both his 2004 and 2008 attempts at his party’s presidential nomination. Bottom line: Support for the war was hardly a deal-breaker for voters, any more than opposition to it was a dealmaker.<br /><br />Reaction to war is just a microcosm of the political landscape, a manifestation of partisan-driven, short-term memory. Sure there might have been momentary disapproval, but when it came time to decide whether supporters of the war stayed or went, the sins of one’s party leaders meant very little in the zero-sum game of electoral politics. Parties outside the duopoly be damned.<br /><br />The same thing happened to the anti-war right, as the Ron Paul movement took off in 2008 with an immense level of grassroots energy. One of the singular successes of his movement was the ability to reach people on an intellectual and practical level about the folly of our foreign interventions and the waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars. Paul didn’t shy from criticizing his own party’s leaders and actions. He explained the Federal Reserve’s relationship to the monetary costs of war.<br /><br />Ultimately, media blackouts and distortion of Paul’s message (for example, conflating his non-interventionist foreign policy views with “isolationism”) helped kill his campaign. After Paul’s 2008 defeat, conservative political activists seized upon the Texas congressman’s libertarian-leaning revolutionary momentum and channeled it into the Tea Party—while leaving the non-interventionist impulses behind. By 2011, national coordinator Jenny Beth Martin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/why-ron-paul-not-tea-party-candidate/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">acknowledged</a>&nbsp;[5], “On foreign policy probably the majority [of Tea Party Patriots] are more like [hawks] Michele Bachmann or Newt Gingrich.”And don’t underestimate how the escalation of drone warfare during the Obama presidency muted the anti-war effort. Drone attacks made fewer headlines because they supposedly caused less collateral damage and kept U.S. troops out of harm’s way, which was portrayed by administration officials and the war establishment in Washington as progress.<br /><br /><br />What the drone program did, in essence, was to create the illusion of “less war.” Nevertheless,&nbsp;<a href="http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/32339-focus-despite-14-years-of-the-us-war-on-terror-terror-attacks-have-skyrocketed-since-911" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">studies</a>&nbsp;[7] showing an increase of terrorism since the beginning of the “war on terror” indicate precisely the opposite: Civilian drone deaths (not always reported) create more enemies, meaning more of our troops will be put in harm’s way eventually.<br /><br />So where should the anti-war movement go from here? Perhaps it should begin by tempering its far-left impulses and embracing its allies on the right who have been made to feel unwelcome. They could take a lesson from right-leaning places like&nbsp;<a href="http://antiwar.com/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Antiwar.com</a>&nbsp;and TAC that have long been open to writers and activists on the left.<br /><br />Meanwhile, flying “Resist Trump” signs at rallies not only misses the mark by suggesting that our needless wars aren’t a bipartisan, systemic problem, but creates a non-inclusive atmosphere for anti-war Trump voters. Ironically, not much “resistance” was heard when Democrats recently helped pass Trump’s $700 billion 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and failed to repeal the original post-9/11 Authorization for Use of Military Force, as was advocated for by Senator Rand Paul this year.<br /><br />In addition, the few on the anti-war left who oppose war based on pacifist or religious reasons need to acknowledge that the majority of Americans believe in a strong national defense as outlined in the Constitution. Most people are willing to accept that there’s a big difference between that and the terrible waste and tragedy that comes with waging unnecessary wars overseas.<br /><br />They are also averse to their lawmakers doing favors for special interests. Focusing on the money and influence that giant defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing have on Capitol Hill—essentially making war a business—makes the anti-war point by raising the issue of crony capitalism and the cozy relationship between politicians and big business, which increasingly leaves the American public out of the equation.<br /><br />These corporations, along with Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, have accounted for $42 million in contributions to congressional candidates since 2009, with $12 million in the 2016 cycle alone. The majority of these funds have targeted Armed Services&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2017/03/defense-sector-contributions/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Committee</a>&nbsp;[8] members, such as perennial war hawk John McCain. In addition, influential neoconservative think tanks have received millions in grants over the years from “philanthropic” organizations such as the<a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/05/05/documents-detail-bradley-foundation-efforts-build-right-wing-infrastructure-nationwide/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Bradley</a>&nbsp;[9] Foundation and the&nbsp;<a href="http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/John_M_Olin_Foundation/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Olin</a>&nbsp;[10] Foundation, which have corporate backgrounds in the defense industry. The conservative Heritage Foundation is reportedly considering the vice president of Lockheed&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/heritage-foundation-the-war-industry-what-a-pair/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">as its new president.</a>&nbsp;[11]<br /><br />Furthermore, mantras and slogans like, “you’re either with us or against us” and “support our troops” have been used as powerful psy-ops to create a false dichotomy: you either support the war policy or you’re not patriotic. Debunking this by pointing out how these wars profit the elite while serving as a pipeline that puts more American military servicemembers—often from working-class backgrounds—into harm’s way should appeal to the current populist spirit on both sides of the political fence. In fact, it could begin to draw new, disenchanted voters into the movement.<br /><br />Americans today are tired of war, which is good, for now. Unfortunately, without a strong anti-war movement, there won’t be much resistance when the next “big threat” comes along. The two major parties have proven to be false friends when it comes to opposing war—they only do it when it suits them politically. Moving beyond them and becoming stronger with allies and numbers—imagine, there’s no parties—is the best way to build a real opposition.<br /><br />__________________<br /><br />Daniel Martin is an anti-war activist, musician, and rock journalist from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MartysInvasion" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">@MartysInvasion</a>.</span><br /><div style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">_______________</span></div><span style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , &quot;freeserif&quot; , serif; font-size: medium;"><br />Excerpt from a speech (in sexist male language) by then ex-President Teddy Roosevelt,&nbsp;given in Paris at the Sorbonne in 1910. The speech was called . . .<br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , &quot;freeserif&quot; , serif; font-size: medium;">"Citizenship In a Republic."&nbsp;</span></div><span style="color: #4e2800; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , &quot;freeserif&quot; , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><br />It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,&nbsp;or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who&nbsp;is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives&nbsp;valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without&nbsp;error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great&nbsp;enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best&nbsp;knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least&nbsp;fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls&nbsp;who neither know victory nor defeat.</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-43743195345917612432018-01-20T19:31:00.002-06:002018-01-20T19:31:18.616-06:00Marchers in Wichita, joined women and men across the country sounded off against Trump<div class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-GB">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Women and men from all over <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:city>, came together to remember and revive last year's Women's March on the Air Capital, this Saturday. This year there was no march, just a rally. Between 1,000 and 1,500 people attended the rally.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">All through the march one consistent theme was voting. The organizers of the march chanted over and over again, encouraging everyone to vote and they encouraged women to run for office.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">At least one of the speakers at the rally has already run for office. Anabel Larumbe talked about her run against Susan Wagle in the Kansas Senate. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">"She had all that money and I had very little," Larume said. "Even with that, I got 41 percent of the vote. If I can do it, anyone can."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Julie Burkhart spoke of the success of her Trust Women organization, which she founded. She said her abortion services, have been extremely successful and are now operating in three states.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">"Shoulder to shoulder we should resist hate, xenophobia, homophobia," Burkhart said. "We are still here."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">She added that&nbsp; our collective blood pressure rose up when anti-choice Donald Trump was elected president. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">"We've made strides in supporting health care," She added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Silvia Fleming, vice president of Service Employees Union (SEIU), who works at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Hamilton</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Middle School</st1:placetype></st1:place>, spoke on the need for education.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">"We need someone to believe in young girls today," she added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">"We will not be ignored," said Lavonta Williams, city council member. She talked about her support of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:city>'s poorest citizens and how she has worked to aid them and their time of needs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Other rallies were held today across the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>. This movement of women is a direct results of the election of Donald Trump and his attacks on women's rights, as well as attacks on immigrants, transgender and members of the gay community. As with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:city>, women's groups across the country are focusing on voting. Despite Kris Koback's &nbsp;many attempts at voter suppression, people at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:city>'s rally were able to help people register to vote. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vDXCvN1s-nA/WmPswrkpH4I/AAAAAAAAX7c/G199H199xCo-lamml4YR0sVFGiPDhrUBACLcBGAs/s1600/Captureqldo298.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="739" height="227" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vDXCvN1s-nA/WmPswrkpH4I/AAAAAAAAX7c/G199H199xCo-lamml4YR0sVFGiPDhrUBACLcBGAs/s320/Captureqldo298.PNG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">There were some very creative signs at the rally.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">As with sign makers in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:city>,&nbsp; there were many visible all across the country, including a <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/women-marched-2018-223728985.html">sign that said</a> "S***hole-N-Chief.” Also, as with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wichita</st1:place></st1:city>, many speakers across the country said their purpose is to encourage voter participation in the 2018 midterm elections.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r53cDj362Eg/WmPsOJ515sI/AAAAAAAAX7M/_ifsM-jfQ7MFk3PjMr1h4Ed698tMSpJXACLcBGAs/s1600/26952025_10155596179361773_4895081854136727223_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r53cDj362Eg/WmPsOJ515sI/AAAAAAAAX7M/_ifsM-jfQ7MFk3PjMr1h4Ed698tMSpJXACLcBGAs/s320/26952025_10155596179361773_4895081854136727223_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hAnW7-ztJw/WmPr3ekyvwI/AAAAAAAAX7I/4EtXtJPjGugZDw5JzZ3hU9Q4u-pP05rhQCLcBGAs/s1600/26962148_10155596180086773_7516640289505232812_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hAnW7-ztJw/WmPr3ekyvwI/AAAAAAAAX7I/4EtXtJPjGugZDw5JzZ3hU9Q4u-pP05rhQCLcBGAs/s320/26962148_10155596180086773_7516640289505232812_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-12684469749059035512018-01-19T14:19:00.001-06:002018-01-19T14:23:21.005-06:00Let’s get rid of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio from public office<div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="background: white; padding: 7.5pt 7.5pt 30.0pt 7.5pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio is one of the most despicable ass holes to ever hold office in the US. He was popular as Sheriff for harassing Hispanic persons under the guise of finding illegal aliens. He clearly broke the law and President Donald Trump pardoned him for that. He also mistreated people held in his jail. Criminals are still human beings and do not deserve to be tortured, which is what Arpaio did to them when he was the Sheriff. There are a lot of redneck ass holes in the US who like to see people mistreated, especially when they have broken the law. Criminals deserve to get justice, but not the kind of vindictiveness that Arpaio showed them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">Arpaio represents the kind of “good ol’ boy” authorities that this nation needs to weed out of our government and our society in general. This man is no more fit to hold a senate seat than Trump is fit to be president. The kind of action as we see below is just what we need:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">-SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 561.75pt;" valign="top" width="749"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">From DSCC via <i>Daily Kos:</i><br /> <br /> Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced that he’s running for Senate.<br /> This is the&nbsp;<i>same</i>&nbsp;sheriff who was ordered by the court to stop illegally targeting and detaining Latinos in Arizona. He even cruelly housed detainees in an outdoor facility that he once called a “concentration camp.”<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/FQE/ni0YAA/t.2e9/tb1td4VJTv-HyGtbCaN2kA/h0/hmw-2BiWr6mXc1DHGFh-2BJUDLyJIR6P0z3dXCheFiG1HT636sFZb3u8IRJpo8YX1Pm-2FuADdCGbANzdclR43ZtYegVryUIbYEQT5-2BmIJ8Roq4fwxaZixdFgAiOGAmS-2B0-2FZrR36ASm-2FuhnjOsh-2BQz6nmk7gAxxetXZSSCCvM3AqMLCFAtKvCDolRYWB2XZBdlAYQInYqeUcaSM3LIuT47kvnXALTB0Yu1j701mc5jZ-2FyA3fI-2BmKfkPYxYLfalySlsZvfnE5N4NDHVzH4mxHGrTxu36qGKC9BFD7KMJtgQ2sl4-2F0t-2B-2FqJLU63uu11iuj7F-2FsN-2BrSBnmGUSXaD-2Fu82YuRT-2FFlFwNNhSzdbPksMGgpwKKiQ-3D" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">Add your name if you want to stop extremist Sheriff Joe Arpaio from becoming a Senator! Join the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) today.</span></a></b><br /> <br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/FQE/ni0YAA/t.2e9/tb1td4VJTv-HyGtbCaN2kA/h1/hmw-2BiWr6mXc1DHGFh-2BJUDLyJIR6P0z3dXCheFiG1HT636sFZb3u8IRJpo8YX1Pm-2FuADdCGbANzdclR43ZtYegVryUIbYEQT5-2BmIJ8Roq4fwxaZixdFgAiOGAmS-2B0-2FZrRpTGiENlRJvqZDh9DuLnZM4MUUZyEwEhaBKCIuXnGyJfzJlovU1DkNj1FqbdmyUb44V9fjJI5Vmp2j-2Fw-2BEHqZyS9T7OhxGSBLiHv1e7194h-2FnhLqIoUZUxE-2Fl4BO6igASx281lac-2FbyuMyo3A8-2BFIj-2BuiTCtekCJ8T99AZqd3PYFIZNpPLQ-2FJMm-2F0eP-2F532i4Svn5DKmcjL1XqtZCbo1WNB-2B6iOLq5zLaBqJHRAaUF2o-3D" target="_blank"><b><span style="background: rgb(231 , 123 , 23); border: 6pt solid rgb(231 , 123 , 23); color: white; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">ADD YOUR NAME</span></b></a></span><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /> We can’t allow Joe Arpaio to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Fortunately, we have an amazing candidate in Kyrsten Sinema, who’s ready to take him on and turn this seat blue. She experienced homelessness as a child, and is fighting to make sure struggling kids have the opportunity to succeed.<br /> Democrats only need two seats to flip the Senate blue, and Kyrsten has what it takes to win.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/FQE/ni0YAA/t.2e9/tb1td4VJTv-HyGtbCaN2kA/h2/hmw-2BiWr6mXc1DHGFh-2BJUDLyJIR6P0z3dXCheFiG1HT636sFZb3u8IRJpo8YX1Pm-2FuADdCGbANzdclR43ZtYegVryUIbYEQT5-2BmIJ8Roq4fwxaZixdFgAiOGAmS-2B0-2FZrRHAt6hE0-2FxUVOkp-2BCK7cIuwcFMiuvOLRHHGR2xZ9wBpDutpi4Bx0GVMUxNIV01eLvNnh6RokuBOP66yb1-2FCY1XuhKQUmv9habcQPWcG3GhWz3T4UhprgSvoHw3SwM0gnUeOpo3xLfI-2FjLX90VLRnS-2FWXy2-2BCTfD10AGvRMOLqcPxrXLuZ47XuRIT8VGPIdcQc81VXb51SBqRbvsy18SFC8c0PxvdUVa2bAB5yhXbRtyE-3D" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">We are two seats away, steve. Add your name if you want to flip the Senate blue!</span></a></b></span><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /> <br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/FQE/ni0YAA/t.2e9/tb1td4VJTv-HyGtbCaN2kA/h3/hmw-2BiWr6mXc1DHGFh-2BJUDLyJIR6P0z3dXCheFiG1HT636sFZb3u8IRJpo8YX1Pm-2FuADdCGbANzdclR43ZtYegVryUIbYEQT5-2BmIJ8Roq4fwxaZixdFgAiOGAmS-2B0-2FZrRo7eOgeKm9xf3cbE0ZeALXstcPjHBG-2BK8DlUwjRBqa0a51-2Bwg6X4edGSmR3TKdeWw1tWROSek0uhbxT956k4nr-2BTvJffCAUnfzdSEOA3qA4Rs-2B2N9YbGj-2FFJu4OQm1et1-2FMTOjAfPzBO6bPKcmDjO6vXhUCLTs1Purg8q1ZDy5M4JT7yWRZrJlZmMHhGwKuikdQxKOfgftcVcKR7rJr0-2FdHdjF9lfr-2BTdWh5TNEhhf6M-3D" target="_blank"><b><span style="background: rgb(231 , 123 , 23); border: 6pt solid rgb(231 , 123 , 23); color: white; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">ADD YOUR NAME</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /> </span><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Together, we helped to defeat extremist Roy Moore in Alabama, and now we have to do the same thing for Arizona.<br /> We cannot sit on the sidelines, team. We need to defeat Arpaio and send Kyrsten to the Senate.<br />From Team DSCC</span></div><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; padding: 7.5pt 7.5pt 30pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 561.75pt;" valign="top" width="749"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Paid for by Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC)</span></i><span style="color: dimgrey; font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><br /></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3eAHbUqeAcg/WmJSnDLbmCI/AAAAAAAAX6k/G6qvM6oSTtQBmzY6FmlZv_SdFNsGN8srQCLcBGAs/s1600/trump-arpaio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="961" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3eAHbUqeAcg/WmJSnDLbmCI/AAAAAAAAX6k/G6qvM6oSTtQBmzY6FmlZv_SdFNsGN8srQCLcBGAs/s320/trump-arpaio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pix by <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/joe-arpaios-senate-run-will-divide-gop-strategists-say-775827" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-87614424280526068992018-01-18T09:29:00.000-06:002018-01-19T11:22:44.156-06:00Corporations, as Apple, want us to thank them—over and over again<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">The Apple Corporation is making big promises after getting all those tax breaks from President Donald Trump. Once again from the Republicans; we are supposed to get down on our hands and knees and thank corporations as Apple and their spokes people, such as CEO Tim Cook, for their important contributions to society. According to <i><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/17/apple-announces-350-billion-investment-20k-jobs-over-5-years.html">CNBC News:</a></i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Apple says the new tax law will help it contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">It says it will create 20,000 new jobs and open a new campus.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Apple expects to pay about $38 billion in taxes for the horde of cash it plans to bring back to the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">So if we bribe these great people and institutions they will do good things for our economy and our welfare, such as GIVING us jobs. They overlook that the workers they employ are the ones that are GIVING them their profits. Without the workers they have no wealth. But that’s not important to these corporations. We live in a society were corporations are way more important and way more valuable than one measly worker. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">And that is what is wrong with capitalism. The working man has little value under this system, government and country. And no one embodies that view more than President Donald Trump. It is time to act politically, especially voting, against this system that worships big corporations and punishes the workers, especially poor workers.<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">&nbsp;</span><img alt="Image result for apple corporate" src="http://c8.alamy.com/comp/J2E4J6/new-york-april-27-2017-apple-corporate-logo-inside-their-store-on-J2E4J6.jpg" height="283" width="400" /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-49243412586736495702018-01-15T13:15:00.000-06:002018-01-15T13:17:37.050-06:005th-grader echoes Martin Luther King Jr. with her own 'dream' speech<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It amazes me that this little kid has the common sense to see that Martin Luther King Jr. dream has not been realized yet. I would say not even close. In fact the goals of an equal society, where people have what they need to survive and live are farther away now than anytime since King lost his life. It takes a little kid, T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">chanori Kone,</span><span lang="EN-GB">&nbsp;to look around and see just how messed up our world is right now. If the next generation can see through our terrible leadership we have today, with the world's Trumps and other scum bags, and realize how much needs to be done then there lies the hope for this world. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;;">-&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">SJ Otto</span><span lang="EN-GB"> <iframe height="360" scrolling="no" src="https://abcnews.go.com/video/embed?id=52348400" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial;" width="440"></iframe></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/">ABC Breaking News</a> | <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Video">Latest News Videos</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-75538623521755620922018-01-15T07:52:00.000-06:002018-01-15T09:54:39.900-06:00Trump looks to Kansas for ideas and inspiration for his pogrom against poor and work requirement for healthcare<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">If there is one clear theme of the Donald Trump Administration I would call it "the scum rising to the top." Everything that is wrong with the direction of this country and government is being sought out after by Trump and his party. Our own Governor Sam Brownback is playing a leading roll as a source of inspiration to this countries pogrom against poor people. Welfare today is almost non-existent in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state></st1:place>. The restrictions are so great that few of its many poor people can take advantage of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Here are some statistics from this Sunday's <i><a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article194696019.html">The Wichita Eagle,</a></i> in an article called "Brownback cut welfare in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state></st1:place>; is Congress about to follow?":<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rj4bWfy4_1A/Wlyw9kOZ2jI/AAAAAAAAX48/lCuqWlvX4u0r04YKW-IbrlEI3GdWmiqJQCLcBGAs/s1600/download%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rj4bWfy4_1A/Wlyw9kOZ2jI/AAAAAAAAX48/lCuqWlvX4u0r04YKW-IbrlEI3GdWmiqJQCLcBGAs/s1600/download%2B%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">Welfare restrictions and work requirements have knocked tens of thousands of Kansans off assistance over the past few years. Many get kicked out for not working, but only a small percentage leave because they have a job, the latest federal data reveals.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">Republicans in Congress have said they want to tackle welfare reform. Some, including Rep. Ron Estes of <st1:city w:st="on">Wichita</st1:city>, say <st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">D.C.</st1:state> should look to <st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state>as an example, but it’s unclear whether program cuts in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state> left recipients better off.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">During his time as governor, Gov. Sam Brownback lowered lifetime caps on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families from 60 months to 24 months and implemented work requirements for recipients. The Republican-controlled Legislature also acted to place many of the changes made by Brownback into law.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">Federal data&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article194696019.html"><span style="color: #993300;">released</span></a>&nbsp;in October shows that last year only 9.2 percent of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>recipients are getting off assistance because they’re employed.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article194696019.html"><span style="color: #993300;">Nationwide</span></a>&nbsp;the rate is 19.7 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><span style="color: #993300;">At the same time, 21.8 percent of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>recipients lost benefits for not complying with work requirements. The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> average is 5.7 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><span style="color: #993300;">“Communities are suffering and families are suffering because we have put barriers up,” Rep. Monica Murnan, D-Pittsburg, said.....<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #993300;">......</span><span style="color: #993300;"> </span><span style="color: #993300;">DCF spokeswoman Taylor Forrest said the agency “allows its clients to voluntarily close their assistance cases at any time, and they are not required by law to report why they are closing” their case.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><span style="color: #993300;">She acknowledged that only 9 to 10 percent of recipients list new employment as a reason. Others offer no explanation, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rpF66Fk-M9o/WlyxaOhgw2I/AAAAAAAAX5A/d81loWUesLI32WPY8k6Zn2_WvbLfnBchgCLcBGAs/s1600/120849-1465233638-wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" height="160" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rpF66Fk-M9o/WlyxaOhgw2I/AAAAAAAAX5A/d81loWUesLI32WPY8k6Zn2_WvbLfnBchgCLcBGAs/s320/120849-1465233638-wide.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-GB">Kansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN-GB"> may be about the hardest state on poor people when it comes to welfare. It should be relabelled "don't care." Our idiot governor, who seems to have been born without a heart, has almost completely destroyed any vestige of a safety net for our neediest citizens. For most people in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>there is no welfare system. Brownback seems to take delight in kicking people off of assistance. And for years he and his followers have bragged that they have lifted people out of poverty and have gave them employment. This has all been an elaborate lie. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Even worse than welfare, <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article181286581.html">Brownback is interested in Trump's moves</a> to require work for Medicaid. Brownback has already stood against expanding Medicaid in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>. As many as 77,000 <a href="https://tiahrtfolly.blogspot.com/2014/03/moveon-rallywichitans-for-medicaid.html">Kansans are without healthcare</a> and cannot get KanCare, the bastardised privately run version of Medicaid, dumped on us by Brownback.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The decision by 25 states to reject the expansion of Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act will result in between 7,115 and 17,104 more deaths than had all states opted in, according to researchers at <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2014/january/more-than-7100-deaths-likely-from-states-rejection-of-medicaid-expansion-%C2%A0health-a">Harvard Medical School and the City University of New York</a><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">. And that includes <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333;">For most of my adult life and the lives of many other fine Americans, I have fought for universal health care. This is the only <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jun/29/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-us-only-major-country-doesnt-guaran/">industrialized country without it</a>. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care, was a step in the right direction all thought it did not go far enough. Now we have politicians such as Trump and Brownback trying to go the other way, trying to put more obstacles to the few people who have access to Medicaid. This is more red tape. The people who really get hurt by this are those who are already sick, need health care, and can't work because they are sick. With so many people getting sick and dying it is hard to buy the ridiculous arguments that work requirements make life better for those denied health care. Those who push for these work requirements are despicable human beings who seem to have a great contempt for the poor. This is hate legislation and their is no better word for it. Trump and Brownback are nothing more than classist criminals who treat the poor the way the Nazis treated the Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333;"><img alt="Image result for scum rises to the top" height="225" src="https://quotefancy.com/media/wallpaper/3840x2160/2181510-Friedrich-August-von-Hayek-Quote-In-government-the-scum-rises-to.jpg" width="400" /></span><br /><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333;"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8pt;">Pix by <a href="http://www.evolvefish.com/Anti-Trump-Button_p_453.html" target="_blank">EvolveFISH</a>, <a href="https://quotefancy.com/quote/1229799/Friedrich-August-von-Hayek-In-government-the-scum-rises-to-the-top" target="_blank">Quotefancy</a> and <a href="https://www.thepetitionsite.com/120/849/388/sam-brownback-resign-as-kansas-governor/" target="_blank">Petition Site</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-17718741746345505252018-01-14T19:32:00.001-06:002018-01-14T19:32:13.332-06:00Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. - April 4, 1967 - Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence <div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It is Martin Luther King Jr. day and this speech seemed a good one. -SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OC1Ru2p8OfU" width="460"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-4725289707434648072018-01-13T11:55:00.001-06:002018-01-13T11:55:11.925-06:00Trump's foul mouthed, racist blather is not surprising<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Is it really that surprising that President Donald Trump referred to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Haiti</st1:country-region></st1:place> and African nations as "shithole countries" during a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">The comment has been reported by a Democratic aide briefed on Thursday's meeting, according to <i><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-referred-haiti-african-countries-shithole-nations-n836946">NBC News</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">It is no surprise that many politicians this week have labelled Trump a racist. And some people seemed shocked to hear our president use profanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I am not shocked at the profanity. I really don't care and I agree it is they way a lot of common people talk. After a year of Trump being in office it is no real surprise to find he is a racist. And as far as calling <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region> and African nations as "shitholes" he is partially right. Some of those nations are bad places to live. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #232323; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">As for the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region> not wanting to come here, Trump is pretty dumb if he can't figure that one out. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a developed European nation. It has a well developed economy. According to <i><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/01/12/577673191/trump-wishes-we-had-more-immigrants-from-norway-turns-out-we-once-did">National Public Radio:</a></i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">"From 1870 to 1910 a quarter of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region>'s working-age population emigrated, mostly to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. You read that right — one-fourth of its workers left the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">Back then <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>was quite poor. Wages were less than a third of what they were in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. And the wave of emigration out of the country quickly benefited those who remained. That's because it reduced the supply of workers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>, so those left behind could demand higher wages. And this helped narrow <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region>'s wage gap with the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> by 25 percent over that same 40-year period, putting <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>on the path toward its status today as one of world's most prosperous nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">Those are the findings of&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/ereh/article-abstract/1/1/27/411860?redirectedFrom=fulltext"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #993300; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">a paper published in&nbsp;</span><em><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #993300; padding: 0in; text-decoration-line: none;">European Review of Economic History</span></em></a>back in 1997 by two economists. It's considered a seminal work because the authors —&nbsp;<a href="http://economics.ucdavis.edu/people/amtaylor"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #993300; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Alan Taylor of the University of California Davis</span></a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/jwilliamson/home"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #993300; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Jeffrey Williamson</span></a>&nbsp;— then of Harvard University, now professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison — combed through paper archives to piece together the first truly comprehensive picture of wage differentials across European countries and the United States during that time.....<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #993300;">.....Then in 2008 a wealth of new data became available about <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region>that added yet another twist to the picture: It turns out that the immigrants that <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region> sent to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> during that great migration wave of the 1870s were its poorest and least educated citizens. Researchers were able to determine this thanks to newly digitized census data from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>. (Other European countries have embarked on similar efforts but <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>, with only around 2 million residents in its early&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/01/12/577673191/trump-wishes-we-had-more-immigrants-from-norway-turns-out-we-once-did"><span style="color: #993300;">census</span></a>&nbsp;data, finished the task first. That has made <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>the go-to nation for researchers of historical economics.)"<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">There is a simple reality that Trump overlooks. European countries, such as <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>, don't have so much deep poverty. A lot of people in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region> have jobs. One big factor a lot of Republicans overlook are that most European countries have free or cheap health care. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Norway">People in Norway pay</a> almost nothing for their health care. So why do people with decent jobs, living in a first world country with a developed economy similar to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>—and most of all—Mostly free health care want to come here? To put this in simple terms <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>is not a shithole of a country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">But the "shithole" countries are a different story. Most nations in Africa and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region>are underdeveloped. Many lack resources. Many have had famine and other natural disasters. Wages in those nations are often way below wages in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Governments are usually corrupt, with lousy human rights records. There is usually a wide divide between the poor workers and the rich upper classes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Probably the best example of this is <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Yemen</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Yemen</span></st1:country-region><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen">not an industrialised</a> nation as is <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Yemen</st1:country-region></st1:place>as of 2013&nbsp;had a GDP (ppp) of US $61.63 billion, with an income per capita of $2,500.The unemployment rate as of 2003 was 35 percent. Simple logic suggests that people prefer to live in a nation that has a developed economy, adequate jobs and they probably like living in a nation where they can afford health care.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">One thing that Trump is not talking much about is that the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> is presently sending troops to <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> to interfere in those nation's political affairs. To put things in plain easy to understand English, the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> is planning to import the same kind of imperialist intervention it has used in the last 10 years in the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Until the Soviet Union fell, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Yemen</st1:country-region></st1:place>had a Marxist Government in its Southern half and a Western style republic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Yemen">in the North</a>. After the <st1:place w:st="on">Soviet Union</st1:place> fell North and South agreed to unite into one country. Then the northern government attacked the Southern Marxist army and wiped them out. As with many African countries there is presently an Islamic faction that resemble ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>) in some ways, called the <span style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthis">Houthis</a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">&nbsp;&nbsp;(</span></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR" style="background: white; color: #222222;">الحوثيون</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>‎)</span><span lang="EN-GB">. The <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>, has been using <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Saudi Arabia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, one of the most repressive regimes in the world, as a proxy army to attack the Houthis<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Saudi Arabia</st1:country-region> attacked them with aircraft and with that action that country and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> have deepened involvement in that countries internal struggles. So not only is <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Yemen</st1:place></st1:country-region> a poor country, it is now war torn nation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">Most people don't like living in countries at war since a lot of innocent bystanders get killed. Who wants to live in a country where they can get killed on any day without any warning? &nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #222222;">While I don't really care if the president uses profane language and I agree people want to come here from "shithole countries" the one thing that is apparent is that our president is just not that smart. The answers to his questions are obvious. Many of us already now that Trump is a racist. The problem is he is also an idiot and he is unfit to be president. This latest incident is just one more piece of evidence that he is unfit for the office. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><h1 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal;">The Asshole Song<o:p></o:p></span></h1><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IU_y9FB0QKk" width="460"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-81514290737882578932018-01-12T11:26:00.000-06:002018-01-12T11:26:05.629-06:00Live stream for universal health car from DSA and Bernie Sanders<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fZjZ-6xi1Qk/WljvpmCfTYI/AAAAAAAAX4c/qzoGmU-PYSwk9KD8Suk3Jg0YdMK7DNdwQCLcBGAs/s1600/DSA_Em_Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="938" height="109" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fZjZ-6xi1Qk/WljvpmCfTYI/AAAAAAAAX4c/qzoGmU-PYSwk9KD8Suk3Jg0YdMK7DNdwQCLcBGAs/s320/DSA_Em_Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span id="goog_160311514"></span><span id="goog_160311515"></span><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">From DSA:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m excited to invite you to&nbsp;</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1914?t=1&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #196ad4;">Senator Bernie Sanders’ livestreamed Medicare for All town hall January 23rd!</span></b></a>&nbsp;DSA is proud to work with Senator Sanders to promote this event. And&nbsp;DSA chapters all across the country are organizing for universal healthcare and taking the fight to a capitalist class that puts profits before patients.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Check out&nbsp;</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1915?t=2&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #196ad4;">this video</span></b></a><b>&nbsp;for more information.</b>&nbsp;And you can&nbsp;<a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1914?t=3&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #196ad4;">RSVP here.</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This is a great opportunity for DSA chapters and members to hold watch parties for people to learn about Medicare for All and how they can get involved in local and national democratic socialist campaigns.&nbsp;<b>The&nbsp;</b><a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1843?t=4&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #196ad4;">Democratic Socialists for Medicare for All Campaign</span></b></a><b>&nbsp;is launching a lot of great new stuff:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1843?t=5&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #196ad4;">Our website has launched!</span></b></a>&nbsp;Keep an eye on&nbsp;<b>medicareforall.dsausa.org</b>for all the latest news, including resources to help your chapter get a campaign up and running. This will be our main hub for all things #DSAM4A. Check the site regularly&nbsp;—&nbsp;we’ll be updating it shortly with new features. And don’t forget to follow us on&nbsp;<a href="http://act.dsausa.org/go/1844?t=6&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">Facebook</span></a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1845?t=7&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">Twitter</span></a>.<br /><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As the M4A campaign grows, we’ll face new strategic questions. That’s why our strategy plan includes the&nbsp;<a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1846?t=8&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #196ad4;">Political Subcommittee.</span></b></a>&nbsp;This committee is tasked with advising the NPC on strategy questions regarding the M4A campaign. The 20 person body will have representatives from key national committees/working groups/commissions and coalition partners. The rest of the committee’s seats will be filled by rank and file DSA members. DSA members interested in helping shape and build the M4A campaign should apply&nbsp;<a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1846?t=9&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">here</span></a>.<br /><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: &quot;symbol&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Campaign’s&nbsp;<b>Organizing Sub-Committee</b>&nbsp;helps chapters develop their local campaigns. This month the committee will be holding a call to highlight current M4A work being done across the country and answer chapters’ questions.&nbsp;<b>If you want your chapter to get involved,&nbsp;<a href="https://act.dsausa.org/go/1847?t=10&amp;akid=915%2E16735%2Eo6wD7W" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4;">make sure you’re signed up for the campaign</span></a>.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Healthcare should be about healing the sick, not giveaways to the rich. We need a system that prioritizes working-class Americans’ health over insurance companies’ profits. And with #DSAM4A, you and I can stand up to the billionaires for real change in working peoples’ lives. Join us!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In solidarity,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Maria Svart, DSA National Director<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">PS: Starting next week chapters will be able to order their&nbsp;<b>Democratic Socialists for Medicare for All Campaign Kit:</b>&nbsp;organizing guides, informational pamphlets, and of course some sweet #DSAM4A swag. I’ll email you ordering information!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 17.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/></v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="https://act.dsausa.org/o.gif?akid=915.16735.o6wD7W" style='width:.75pt; height:.75pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\sotto\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" o:title="o.gif?akid=915.16735"/></v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="https://act.dsausa.org/o.gif?akid=915.16735.o6wD7W" border="0" height="1" src="file:///C:\Users\sotto\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="1" /><!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-53461037334542429372018-01-09T11:35:00.001-06:002018-01-09T11:38:31.758-06:00Planning commission OKs megachurch- and ignores objections from neighbors<div class="MsoNormal">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">A Mega church is planning to build housing, an amphitheater and many other facilities- and all of this at the objection of close by neighbors.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">According to <i><a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article193058584.html">The Wichita Eagle,</a></i> there is a:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #c00000;">complex that will back up onto the Willo-Esque neighborhood in west Wichita, shortly before planners approved the project and sent it on to the City Council.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #c00000;">The new development will include 180 patio homes and apartments, a 165,000-square-foot event center, a 500-700 seat outdoor amphitheater, a school, a youth/fitness center and athletic fields. It’s planned for 33 acres of vacant land just west of the existing church buildings at 6100 W. Maple, near the west bank of the Big Ditch….<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">And there have been complaints:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #c00000;">…. The plan has so far encountered little opposition and passed unanimously at the District Advisory Board Wednesday. But at the Planning Commission hearing Thursday, three neighbors questioned what it will mean for their lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #c00000;">“I’m very concerned about light, noise,” said neighbor Joan Flynn, who’s worried how it will affect the value of her home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #c00000;">“Even with just the church being over there, they every once in a great while light it up like a Christmas tree and it’s annoying,” she said. “When I hear there’s going to be a sports field and an amphitheater (and) that the amphitheater would close at midnight, gosh, you know, we have kids in that neighborhood that don’t stay up till midnight and I am very concerned.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">The first thing we have to wonder is why a church needs so much property developed. Would Jesus, in his time, become a multi-millionaire capitalist? Why does any church need so much property and income? That seems not to be the reason for a church in the first place. And these mega churches are gaudy anyway.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">The other issue is why the city always has to take the side of developers even when the people around them don’t want the development. The answer is easy. This is a city, like many, where the elected leaders are in the pockets of the developers. The developers own city hall and all who serve. They owe their careers to the developers. Until we can get some people elected in city hall that work for the people and not the corrupted interests, that’s how things will be. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-251nsGB7vGA/WlT9Ozf2ygI/AAAAAAAAX4M/rHNMW9fEFY421O1wcqgnY8l4BXdtTLIFQCLcBGAs/s1600/5146245_web0_church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="816" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-251nsGB7vGA/WlT9Ozf2ygI/AAAAAAAAX4M/rHNMW9fEFY421O1wcqgnY8l4BXdtTLIFQCLcBGAs/s320/5146245_web0_church.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pix from&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&amp;pb=!1s0x87bade5f92ce2f61:0x888ec3be74d7e9ec!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttp://www.sauerweinconstruction.com/religious.html!5smega+church+maple+and+big+ditch+wichita+-+Google+Search&amp;imagekey=!1e1!2shttp://www.sauerweinconstruction.com/images/Community-Church-Front.jpg&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiy08rqtMvYAhWBKWMKHfQgAWEQoioIWjAG" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Central Community Church and Sauerwein Construction.</a>.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-23023099202417924582018-01-06T12:56:00.002-06:002018-01-06T12:56:35.938-06:00Corporations cut corners and cost workers their lives- two men died<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">By SJ Otto<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Owner+of+Wichita+grain+elevator+where+two+men+died+has+history+of+safety+violations&amp;url=http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article192846399.html" title="Share on Twitter"></a></span><span lang="EN-GB">This latest story in <i><a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article192846399.html">The Wichita Eagle</a></i> is an example of capitalism gone wrong. Two men died, smothered by grain as they were buried alive. It turns out that the company that ran the grain elevator has faced 24 cases of safety and health violations by federal regulators over the past seven years. The elevator is operated and owned by Gavilon. They own not only the elevator in which the two men were killed, near Wichita, but they own other grain elevators including one in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Ohio</st1:state></st1:place> where a man was crushed by a grain auger. There is little doubt that corners have been routinely cut by owners who follow the mantra that we have "too many regulations," a theme we hear often from the Donald Trump administration. I'm sure the owners scoffed at the idea that we need so many regulation and that the possibility of an accident from ignoring these rules is just too remote. But in this case we see that the accident was not remote. The chances are good that they just ignored the rules and figured nothing would happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Such lack of respect for regulations just cost two men their lives. This accident was probably preventable. If the owners had followed the safety regulations and did what they were supposed to do, these men would not have suffocated. When conservatives publically complain that there is too much regulations of their industries, we need to remember these tragedies and remind the public that not following the rules cost people their lives. Most of the time such rules are ignored to save time and money. When preventable deaths occur, that savings is not worth it.&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Conservatives tell us there are too many regulations. These deaths tell us otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">For <i>The Wichita Eagle</i> story, "Owner of Wichita grain elevator where two men died has history of safety violations," <a href="http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article192846399.html">click here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">&nbsp;</span><img alt="Image result for ​grain auger" height="297" src="https://images2.sw-cdn.net/product/picture/710x528_11692081_7490978_1459345558.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8pt;">Pix by <a href="https://www.shapeways.com/product/84ST2YLSH/mk-100-x-40-truck-loader-grain-auger-z-scale" target="_blank">Shapeways</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-72268135754423312772018-01-03T15:41:00.002-06:002018-01-03T15:41:54.917-06:00Bernie Sanders reaches out to us on this new year 2018<div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">From Beranie Sanders:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fQMXJBoD12g/Wk1N7J7ggZI/AAAAAAAAX38/HuXC39IpYWIozdRDGxuq-TlEwHSaXp_GACLcBGAs/s1600/plainbernielogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="102" data-original-width="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fQMXJBoD12g/Wk1N7J7ggZI/AAAAAAAAX38/HuXC39IpYWIozdRDGxuq-TlEwHSaXp_GACLcBGAs/s1600/plainbernielogo.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Sisters and Brothers -<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">What a year it was!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Yes. We all know that we have seen a president take office who is the most dishonest, bigoted, divisive and reactionary president in the modern history of our country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">We have also seen a right-wing extremist, Republican Congress attempt to throw up to 32 million Americans off of the health care they have, give hundreds of billions in tax breaks to the richest people in our country and the largest corporations, destroy environmental legislation and work overtime to deny women the right to control their own bodies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Yes. We have seen all of that and much more. But we are also seeing something else that, from an historical perspective, is far more important. We are seeing the American people come together, fight back and win important victories all across the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">During my campaign for president in 2016 I stated over and over again that the future of our country was dependent upon our willingness to make a political revolution. I stressed that real change never occurs from the top on down. It always happens from the bottom on up. No real change in American history, not the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the gay rights movement, the environmental movement or any other movement has ever had success without grassroots activism, without millions of people engaged in the struggle for justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">That's what I said when I ran for president. That's what I believe now and that's what millions of us have been working to accomplish over the last several years. At a time of massive and growing income and wealth inequality, when our nation moves closer and closer to an oligarchic form of society, we are working hard and effectively to create an unprecedented grassroots political movement to defeat the greed of the billionaire class and the politicians they own.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">And the good news is that we're making progress. In state after state ordinary Americans are successfully taking on establishment politicians who are more concerned about protecting their wealthy campaign contributors than the needs of the middle class or working people they are supposed to represent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">In 2017 we made progress when millions of people, in every state in the country, took to the streets for the Women's March in opposition to Trump's reactionary agenda. We made progress when an unprecedented grassroots movement elected a young African-American as mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. We made progress when tens of thousands of Americans turned out in rallies and town meetings to successfully oppose the Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and we're making progress when more and more Americans are joining the fight for a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">We're making progress when governors and local officials in every part of the country announce, in response to student demands, tuition-free public colleges and universities. We're making progress when states and communities from coast to coast adopt legislation which provides a minimum wage of $15 an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">We're making progress when, on Election Day, Nov. 7, 2017, in local and state elections all across the country, Trumpism suffered a major defeat as hundreds of progressive first time candidates from every conceivable background ran for school board, city council, state legislature and other local offices - and many of them won.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">We're making progress when, on Dec. 10, 2017, a strong Democrat was elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama, one of the most conservative states in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">The truth is that the American people are far more united than the media allows us to believe. They get it. They know that over the last 40 years, despite a huge increase in worker productivity, the middle class has continued to shrink while the very rich have become much richer. They know that, for the first time in the modern history of the United States, our kids will likely have a lower standard of living than their parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Our job, in 2018 and beyond, for the sake of our kids and grandchildren, is to bring our people together around a progressive agenda.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Are the people of our country deeply concerned about the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that we are experiencing? You bet they are. Do they believe that our campaign finance system is corrupt and enables the rich to buy elections? By overwhelming numbers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Do they want to raise the minimum wage to a living wage and provide pay equity for women workers? Yes they do. Do they think the very rich and large corporations should pay more in taxes so that all of our kids can have free tuition at public colleges and universities? Yup. Do they believe that the United States should join every other major country and guarantee health care as a right? Yes, again. Do they believe climate change is real? You've got to be kidding. Are they tired of the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, having a crumbling infrastructure with roads, bridges, water systems, wastewater plants, airports, rail, levees and dams falling apart? Who isn't?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Further, a majority of the American people want comprehensive immigration reform and a criminal justice system that is based on justice, not racism or mass incarceration.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Today, what the American people want is not what they are getting. In fact, under Republican leadership in the House, Senate and White House, they are getting exactly the opposite of what they want.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">The American people want a government which represents all of us. Instead, they are getting a government which represents the interests and extremist ideology of wealthy campaign contributors. They want environmental policies which combat climate change and pollution, and which will allow our kids to live in a healthy and habitable planet. Instead, they are getting executive orders and legislation which pushes more fossil fuel production, more greenhouse gas emissions and more pollution. They want a nation in which all people are treated with dignity and respect, and where we continue our decades long struggle to end discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nation of origin. Instead, they have a president who seeks to win political support appealing to those very prejudices.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Maintaining a vibrant democracy based on principles of justice has never been easy. In these dangerous and unprecedented times, it may be more difficult than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">As a result of the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, billionaires are now able to spend hundreds of millions in ugly TV ads demonizing candidates who dare to stand up to them. Republican governors and legislatures are working to suppress the vote, making it harder for people of color, poor people and young people to vote. Republican state legislatures have created incredibly gerrymandered districts which unfairly protect Republican candidates.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Yes, I know. These are painful and frightening times. Many friends have told me that they have given up reading the papers or watching TV. But let us be clear. Despair is not an option. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not anytime. That is exactly what our enemies want. Also, please never forget that the struggle we are engaged in is not just for us. It is for our kids and grandchildren. It is for the future of the planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">So here is a New Year's resolution I hope you will share with me. In 2018 we will not only intensify the struggle against Trumpism, we will increase our efforts to spread the progressive vision in every corner of the land. Yes. We will create a vibrant democracy where the voices of all people are heard. Yes. We will create a nation which leads the world in the struggle for peace, and for economic, social, racial and environmental justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/struggle_continues?refcode=em180101-full" target="_blank" title="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/struggle_continues?refcode=em180101-full"><span style="color: #147fd7;">Make a $3 donation today to help me continue to organize and grow our political revolution across the country to take on Trumpism and build support for the progressive vision for America's future that we share.</span></a></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">The struggle continues.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div style="background: white; line-height: 17.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #364350; font-family: Arial;">Bernie Sanders<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12874833.post-685574806456309892017-12-31T20:24:00.001-06:002018-01-03T08:11:11.471-06:00The Democrats’ New Agenda Is Everything That’s Wrong With the Party<span style="color: red;">After all this time it just seems as if the Democrats just can't learn from their mistakes. They are prepared to do the same terrible job they have done for the last 20 years. We have a right to expect something better. -SJ Otto</span><br /><h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">From <i><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/20363/Democratic-party-corporate-power-new-agenda-a-better-deal">In These Times:</a></i><o:p></o:p></span></h1><div class="article-deck">More bland messaging and populist posturing won’t save the Democrats. The party needs to take a bold stand against corporate power.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="author">BY&nbsp;<a href="https://inthesetimes.com/community/profile/136010">Miles Kampf-Lassin</a></span></div><div class="pullquote">There’s no shortage of ambitious programs waiting for the Democrats to embrace.<o:p></o:p></div>The story of the Democratic Party in 2017 has been one of timidity and stubborn resistance to real change.<o:p></o:p><br />In the immediate aftermath of the party’s preferred candidate facing a humiliating defeat in last year’s presidential election, questions swirled over what direction the party would take to respond to the new political reality. With Democrats at their weakest position in decades, having lost over 1,000 seats in states and Congress over the previous eight years, it appeared that a drastic shift in how the party operated was in store.<o:p></o:p><br />And the party was offered an early opportunity to embark on such a shift, with the campaign by Keith Ellison for Democratic National Committee chair. Ellison sported&nbsp;<a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/20363/Democratic-party-corporate-power-new-agenda-a-better-deal">a resume</a>&nbsp;as a bold progressive with popular support from rank-and-file Democrats and party activists alike. And he presented a clear break with the Democratic Party’s traditional establishment.<o:p></o:p><br />But rather than embrace the new direction presented by Ellison’s bid, party insiders conspired to instead elect Tom Perez, a candidate with much stronger connections to the party’s establishment wing. The result came as a dispiriting blow to many in the party’s base who hoped for a clear break in Democratic leadership.<o:p></o:p><br />In the ensuing months, the Democrats have&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/22/democrats-midterm-elections-238659">turned</a>&nbsp;to neoliberal architects such as Rahm Emanuel for advice,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/20/us/politics/georgia-6th-most-expensive-house-election.html">invested</a>&nbsp;a historic amount of funding in centrist Jon Ossoff’s failed congressional campaign in Georgia and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-17/democrats-see-conservative-blue-dogs-as-key-to-winning-house">returned</a>&nbsp;to the strategy of recruiting moderate “Blue Dogs” to run in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections.<o:p></o:p><br />And this week, the Democratic Party&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/24/politics/democratic-agenda-unveiling-virginia-event/index.html">announced</a>&nbsp;its new slogan and platform: “A Better Deal: Better Jobs, Better Wages, Better Future.” Besides its possible&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/opinion/democrats-trump-message">plagiarism</a>&nbsp;from Papa John’s tagline, the plan includes a repackaging of a number of longtime Democratic ideas, with some potential&nbsp;<a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/20363/Democratic-party-corporate-power-new-agenda-a-better-deal">progressive</a>&nbsp;offerings sprinkled in. But much like a pizza from Papa John’s, “A Better Deal” mostly amounts to an uninspired, stale and cheesy agglomeration stuffed neatly into a box.<o:p></o:p><br /><strong>Lack of imagination</strong><o:p></o:p><br />One of the main policies included in “A Better Deal,” lauded by both Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi in their respective op-eds announcing the agenda, is a tax credit for companies to train workers in new skills. On its face, this initiative may come across as smart and sound policy aimed at retraining workers and incentivizing businesses at the same time. Except their plan has one problem: It doesn’t work.<o:p></o:p><br />As has been documented time and again, simply handing money to the private sector is an ineffective way to make sure that workers become retrained with new skills. In fact, as Corey Robin&nbsp;<a href="http://coreyrobin.com/2017/07/24/the-democrats-a-party-that-wants-to-die-but-cant-pull-the-plug/">notes</a>, when such programs have been instituted in the past, data and research over decades has shown that overall they’ve performed poorly.<o:p></o:p><br />In an&nbsp;<em>In These Times</em>&nbsp;article published in 1994, John B. Judis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unz.org/Pub/InTheseTimes-1994jan24-00019">explained</a>&nbsp;why job retraining, then touted by the Bill Clinton administration, failed to lead to wage increases for workers or growth in employment. To prove his case, Judis cited the Labor Department’s own studies.<o:p></o:p><br />What didn’t work in 1994 and in the intervening decades is not any more likely to work in 2017. And yet the plan sits as one of the centerpieces of the Democrats’ new strategy. Why?<o:p></o:p><br />This goes back to the issue of timidity. Schumer has called the plan “a strong, bold economic agenda.” In reality, promising more cash to companies is not bold at all: It is the plan least likely to offend or challenge the profit-maximizing model of corporate <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region>. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p><br />The same holds true regarding the issue of jobs. “A Better Deal” sets a goal of creating jobs for 10 million more&nbsp;<a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/20363/Democratic-party-corporate-power-new-agenda-a-better-deal">Americans</a>&nbsp;over the next five years. This is a good&nbsp;<a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/20363/Democratic-party-corporate-power-new-agenda-a-better-deal">start</a>, but why stop there? Rather than setting its sights on a simple, round number of jobs, the Democratic Party could take an actual bold step and announce a goal of full employment across the country, with everyone who wants a job being offered one.<o:p></o:p><br />This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky fantasy. A federal job guarantee has been part of the national conversation going back to at least 1934 when <st1:state w:st="on">Louisiana</st1:state>’s populist governor Huey Long&nbsp;<a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/143602/back-work-how-democrats-win-americans-left-behind-new-economy">called for it</a>&nbsp;in his “Share the Wealth” plan. Franklin Roosevelt included a federal job guarantee in his famous second bill of rights. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out in favor of such a plan. George McGovern ran on it in 1972, and some form of full employment was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2013/8/25/1233783/-When-Did-the-Democratic-Party-Platform-Abandon-Full-Employment">featured</a>&nbsp;in the Democratic Party platform from 1944 up until 1992, the year Bill Clinton won the presidency.<o:p></o:p><br /><br /><br />For the rest <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/20363/Democratic-party-corporate-power-new-agenda-a-better-deal">click here.</a><o:p></o:p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuzIb2GQfkM/WkmbxPl1ujI/AAAAAAAAX3s/47ZFoVNGh6YuTs0QzOkjsUgV33gnZQR2gCLcBGAs/s1600/dems_850_567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="850" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuzIb2GQfkM/WkmbxPl1ujI/AAAAAAAAX3s/47ZFoVNGh6YuTs0QzOkjsUgV33gnZQR2gCLcBGAs/s320/dems_850_567.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div class="fb-like-box" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/platform" data-width="292" data-show-faces="true" data-stream="true" data-header="true"></div></div>SJ Ottohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07487555345944757755noreply@blogger.com0